LOWELL -- The city's Board of Health says a report on the conditions of Lowell High School is the crux of its recommendation Wednesday that the school be temporarily closed in order to address a myriad of building issues, but City Manager Kevin Murphy said the school is safe and will remain open.

The vote stunned Murphy, and comes just two weeks before the City Council makes a historic vote on whether to renovate the existing downtown high school buildings or build a new high school at Cawley Stadium.

"The Board of Health's vote was both myopic and incendiary," Murphy told The Sun. "It was also extremely irresponsible."

Murphy said no one from the Board of Health or Health Department recommended where to educate 3,200 students if the high school was closed and that the vote creates more confusion and anxiety. On Thursday he met with school and city officials to review concerns posed by the Board of Health.

"It was confirmed at this meeting that most of the issues that the Board of Health had have already been addressed and we continue to address issues at Lowell High School," Murphy told The Sun. "If they just had the common courtesy to notify me, I would have had someone there (at the meeting Wednesday) to answer their questions."

The meeting agenda lists the discussion as "informational: Lowell High School repair reports for review.

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" There is no indication that a vote would be taken.

Board of Health Chairwoman Jo-Ann Keegan told The Sun on Thursday that four members voted in favor of the school's closing, with one abstention. Kerry Hall abstained because she is employed by the School Department. She is listed as a physical education teacher at the Pyne Arts School website. Including Keegan and Hall, the other members of the Board of Health are: John Donovan, William Galvin, and Craig Kelly.

"We relied on the 17-page report developed by the building commissioner after he spent two and a half days in the high school," Keegan said. "These are sitting inspectors who spent two days at the high school. I think it's appropriate that the board depends on the building commissioner and the health inspectors to inspect buildings."

Both Keegan and Donovan said the board recognizes that it does not have the power to shut down the school.

"The vote was to recommend closing of the high school based on critical health-code violations. I attempted to amend the vote unless the critical violations can be corrected in a timely manner but the board did not accept my amendment so they voted to recommend the closing," Keegan said. "The point is that these are critical violations that need to be addressed in a timely manner. There were board members that were very upset by the report."

The meeting Wednesday was also apparently a special session of the five-member board, as the board usually meets the first Wednesday of each month, according to the city's website.

All five health board members are appointed by the city manager.

Murphy acknowledged the complex needs work, as outlined in an "extensive" report recently compiled by the city's Division of Development Services. Murphy discussed with the report with School Superintendent Salah Khelfaoui and Department of Public Works Commissioner Thomas Bellegarde, and other top city officials, a month ago, and work had already begun to address items listed in the report.

Donovan said the board had four main concerns including a leaky roof, lack of ventilation, and multiple fire code violations.

Murphy said Lowell Fire Chief Jeffrey Winward did an inspection Thursday and said the school is safe in case of a fire.

Lowell Mayor Edward Kennedy said the vote was disturbing and overly dramatic. He said he thinks its origins come out of the tensions between those who want Lowell High School to stay where it is and those who want a new high school to be built near Cawley Stadium.

"I don't think the Board of Health would have called a special meeting to take that matter up if that tension didn't exist between those two groups," Kennedy added.

Murphy said he discussed the report with Keegan three weeks ago, and the chairwoman seemed pleased that the items were being addressed.

"That's why I was so surprised to hear of this meeting and this vote," Murphy said. "At this point in the process there was no need for the Board of Health to do this. Boards need to be responsible. Imagine if you are a parent and have kids at Lowell High School. But I want to assure all parents and Lowell High teachers and administrators the building does not pose a threat to anyone's public safety."

Murphy was also incensed the Board of Health took the vote without any member ever touring the high school. As the high school issue has become more contentious across the city, hundreds of photographs have appeared on social media depicting stained ceiling tiles, buckets collecting water and other "punch-list" items, such as malfunctioning HVAC units. But Murphy stressed none of the items highlighted in the report pose a threat to public safety.

"We've had discussions about touring the high school but, frankly, leaving it into the experts' hands, I feel, is appropriate," Keegan said.

City Councilor Bill Samaras, who used to be the headmaster at Lowell High, said he was upset by the recommendation.

"If the Board of Health really feels it's dangerous, then shut it down but the thing is, I think what's happening is this issue of Cawley vs. the downtown has become the most polarizing issue I've seen in my lifetime in the city of Lowell and my active involvement in some form of politics," Samaras said. "If these problems are real then step up to it and say, 'These problems are real and we have to shut the school down.' Now what I see is fear-mongering."

Asked if he thought the health board's vote was an attempt to sway city councilors to support building a new high school at Cawley Stadium, Murphy said no. However, he did say he was looking into individual board member' motivations.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with a future high school. This has to do with the current high school. The person that made the motion is Dr. Galvin, who lives in Andover and doesn't have an interest in where the high school is," Keegan stressed. "The Board of Health has no say in where the next high school goes."

Donovan would not directly answer whether he agrees or disagrees with Murphy's statement that the building does not pose a threat to anyone's public safety, once again citing the report's findings.

"The motivation was for the health and safety of the people there now, not six years from now," he said. "We need somebody to take action."

Keegan was asked what she would tell a Lowell High parent who asked her if the school is safe for their child.

"It's a very loaded question," she said. "I'm confident that the administration has taken notice of the board's vote and will work swiftly to ensure that the school is safe in the very near future."

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